Controller for electric motor vehicles



Filed Sept. 15, 1922 Patented oa. 20, 1925. 1,558,052

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB SCHUROH, LOS ANGELE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO BENJAMIN C. TUNISON,

OI PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONTROLLER FOB ELECTRIC MOTOR VEHICLES.

Application filed September 15, 1922. Serial No. 588,490.

To all whom it may concern: plates and carbon inserts are mounted upon 50 Be it known that I, JACOB SCHURCH, a the peripheral surface of the drum. citizen of the United States, residing at The invention consists, as shown in the Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles drawing, of a supporting structure 11 havand State of California, have invented a ing end plates 12 and 13 which are held in new and useful Controller for Electric properly spaced arrangement by a longi- 55 Motor Vehicles, of which the following is tudinal connecting member 14 and insulator a specification. bars 15; a drum 18 rotatably mounted be My invention relates to devices for contween the end plates 12 and 18, having controlling the flow of electric current from tact plates 19 mounted thereupon; and two a generative source to various electrically sets 20 and 21 of cooperating contact fingers 60 actuated elements, and relates articularly 23 which are attached in a suitable manner to a drum t pe controller whlch is espeto the insulator bars 15 and extend undercially ada ted to use with electrically driven neath the drum 18 in such a manner that 15 motor ve icles. contact of brushes 25 mounted upon the It is an object of my invention to provide inner ends thereof may be had with their 6 a controller having means incorporated associated contact plates 19 as the drum therewith for eliminating the detrimental 18 is revolved. burning oil of the ends of contact plates It is an inherent tendency of electric curdue to the are which is formed between these rents to draw an are between contact points contact plates and the contact fingers when of a circuit when such points are drawn 7 contact therebetween is broken. out of contact. This are has the effect of It is a further object of my invention to burning ofi' and roughening the metal conprovide a controller from which the drum tact members at the point where the break mayv be removed without disturbing the of contact is made. My invention provides contact fingers, and in which controller the a means whereby the detrimental effects of 75 removal of the drum provides free access this arcing of the contacts may be practo the contact fingers thereof. tically overcome. This I accomplish by the It is a still further object of the invenemployment of carbon inserts 28 which are 30 tion to provide in such a device an improved placed, as shown in Fig. 1, adjacent to the construction which facilitates the removal ends of the contact plates 19 at which the 80 of the drum. make and break of the contact is accom- The specific advantages of my invention plished. and further objects thereof will be made It will be perceived that as the drum 18 evident hereinafter. is revolved a finger 23 of one set of contact Referring to the drawing which is for ilfingers will make contact with a contact 35 lustrative pur oses only: plate 19 and then the opposite finger 28 of Fig. l is a ongitudinal vertical sectional the other set will make-contact with the view of a controller embodying the features contact plate, thus providing through the of my invention. contact plate a connection between the op- Fig. 2 is a plan view corresponding to posite contact fingers. It is further em Fig. 1, a ortion of the drum being redent that before contact of a finger can be moved to s ow the disposal of the contact made with a contact plate,-the finger must fingers thereunderneath. pass over a carbon insert 28, and that what- F ig.. 3 is a sectional view taken upon an ever are is drawn must be from the carofl'set plane as indicated by the line 3-3 of bon insert. This is also true with the break- Fi 1. ing of a contact betwen a contact finger l ig; 4 is a fragmentary sectional view and a contact plate, the electric circuit be showing the manner in which the contact ing maintained by the carbon insert after the finger has left the plate. The particular value of carbon in this utility is that it is of high resistance and cannot be welded under the action of the electric arc, and does not rapidly disintegrate under the action thereof.

Another important feature of my invention resides in the mounting of the drum 18 upon a shaft in such a manner that the drummay belifted directly upward from between t e end pineal! and 13, for the purpose of renewin inserts or giving attention to the fingers 3, without disturbing these fingers. The shaft ,30 is su ported in ball bearings 31 held in annu ar retaining members 33 which are riveted u n the inner faces of the plates 12 and 13, this bearin members beinginserted through openi s 56 in the plates 12 and 13. From the top e e of the plates 12 and 13 vertical cuts 34 and 35 are extended down through the upper part of the retaining mg placed in each of members 33, these cuts being spaced at a slightly greater distance apart than the diameter of the shaft 30. Central filler plates 36 are thus formed to which are attached the filler portions 37 of the retaining members 33.

Riveted upon the front of the filler plates 36 are plates 38 and 40 of somewhat greater width than the filler plates, and extending down to a point below the ball bearings. By the use of screws 41, the plates 38 and 40 are attached to the lates 12 and 13, thus providing a means w ereby the filler plates 36 are held in lace and also a means for holding the ba bearing members against the inner lips 48 of the retaining members 33 and preventing their moving outwardly upon the shaft 30.

en it becomes necessary to remove the drum 18, the filler plates 36 are removed, as shown at 50 in Fig. 2, by taking out the screws 41 which lpass through the plates 38 and 40. The ba bearing members 31 may then be slid outwardly upon the shaft 30, leaving the shaft free to be lifted upwardly through the vertical channels exposed by the removal of the filler members.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a controller, the combination of: a drum; a rotatable shaft for mounting said drum; a pair of suitably spaced supporting members; a bearing receptacle in each of said SIIPPOltlBfi members, said bearing reoeptacles each aving an open end; a bearsaid receptacles through said open ends, said bearings rotatably supporting said shaft, there bein a channel, of sli htly greater width than the diameter of sand shaft, extending from the outeredge of each of said supporting memhers mwgrdly through one s1 e of each of said bearing receptacles, so as to permit said shaft to be removed radially from said supsli orting members after the moving of said arings upon said shaft out of said receptacles.

2. In a controller the combination of: a

drum; a rotatable shaft for mounting gulf supportin members, he! tacies eat: havin an open end; a placed ill-each o :Il'd aids, said bea rotatably porting said shaft there be a channel, ghtly ter width than t e diameter oi?- said sha extend' from the outer odgeof each of said suppo 1 members inwardly through one side of eac of said I ceptacles, sov as to ermit saidehaitto. moved radially from up bers after the movinifipi i H said shaft out of an reeepzpm'gu A y able filler member for enehp suideha W; and means with said filler membersfor ventin' the movement of said throng the open ends of 88rd receptacles.

3. In a controller thecombin'ation drum; aQi-otatable shaft for mounting drum; a pair of suitably spa d suppurtia members; a bearing Yeoep Hole in said supporting members, said P ceptacles each having an opep end-a1- ing placed in each of said i 1 throu said ope said has w W tatal) y su poltln Stud it, there u 1 channel, 0 slight i eam width diameter of said s a mendin outer edge of each of sat su g bers inwardly thro h @I Said. bearing receptac so as to I shaft to be removed in 1- rtin'g members alter the mo v j a arings upon said shaftout of-sa d k i tactes; a removable, filler-member of said channels; Md said filler members for ment Of 0;: ends of said bearing 4. In a controller to y drum; a rotatable shaft mounting N a drum; a pair of suitably c 'snppo memberp; structug: conn su r'tn mem rs; c011 saiiflirum contact fingprsnndor stitl ada ted to traverse sa (1 contact plates sai' drum is"rotated; a bearing in each of said supportin u bearin receptacles each wing pa =0 end; a placed'in each of said ta'cles lillYO l V said am,

downwardly from the outer edge of Gaol 5 7 said supporti members inwardly think one side of we of said'beafing mam anal ifirialhl .i. y. M

so as to permit said shaft to be lifted upthrough the open ends of said bearing rewardly from said supporting members after ceptacles. the moving of said bearings upon said shaft In testimony whereof, I have hereunto 10 out of said receptacles; a removable filler my hand at LOS g l s, C hforma,

5 member for each of said channels; and a thlS 8th y Of September, 1922 plate mounted upon said filler members for preventing the movement of said bearings JACOB SCHURCH. 

